Chhattisgarh has sought financial assistance from the central government to battle sickle cell anaemia that has gripped the 18-20 per cent of the state's 20.08 million population, officials said. The state government briefed Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in New Delhi about the disease that has attained alarming proportions, a senior Health official said. Sickle cell anaemia is a disorder of the blood caused by inherited abnormal haemoglobin, an oxygen-carrying protein in the red blood cells. More than 50 per cent of affected children die before the age of five while many others lose their lives in the prime of their youth. "The number of sickle cell anemia patients is drastically rising in the state, mainly in certain communities, and despite state government's best efforts the situation is alarming," the official said

Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that an audit of maternal deaths will be conducted soon in all states. "This year, we have taken another new initiative on a national level and that is the introduction of maternal death audits at the community as well as the facility level," he said. "Some states have already started doing it, while others are in advanced stages of preparation," Azad said, pointing out that availability of accurate data on maternal mortality was a major concern for policy makers. Addressing an international conference which will deliberate on achievements and drawbacks in the field of combating maternal mortality, the minister described effective implementation of the existing schemes as the main problem.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched a campaign to provide free health-care facilities to at least one million poor children in several countries including India and Pakistan. One million poor ill children will be given a new lease of life under the mission launched in Abu Dhabi by Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in the Western Region and President of the UAE Red Crescent Authority (RCA). Team leader of the Emirates Global Humanitarian Mobile Hospital (Elaj) Khadem Al Darie said, "The mission is to promote the culture of giving and social volunteering through activation of local and international programmes with the aim of easing suffering of poor patients".

The Centre has sent a two-member team to Lucknow to probe the deaths of four infants after they were administered anti-measles vaccination at an immunisation camp in the Mohanlal Ganj area. “Most stringent action will be taken against those found guilty,” Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said. The deaths took place on Saturday, following which the immunisation drive was suspended by the Uttar Pradesh government and a departmental enquiry ordered. The Central team will ascertain whether the vaccines were spurious, expired or whether there were procedural lapses, either while administering the shots or in maintaining the cold chain.

“Stories of Mothers Saved”, a multimedia campaign by the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood (WRA), was launched on Thursday. An eight-minute film showcasing stories of women who did not die needlessly in pregnancy or childbirth in India was screened as part of the campaign which is supported by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The film features stories of women from different parts of rural India who survived childbirth due to “key action” taken by other women, their own families, health workers, their community, political leaders or others.

Orissa has decided to set up 561 newborn care centres across the state to check infant mortality. These centres would be created in the existing government hospitals and health centres, Health and Family Welfare Department Director NK Mishra said. The infant mortality rate prevailing in Orissa is 69 per thousand live births — the highest in the country — against the national average of 53. The centres, to be set up by the end of this year, will provide immediate care to the babies after their birth, he said.

Researchers are testing a new drug for malaria - one that is made from simple organic molecules and will be cheaper to mass-produce. Traditionally, an extract of a Chinese herb, artemisinin, is commonly used in malaria treatment. The new drug, created by the Liverpool team, is chemically similar to artemisinin. However, it can be taken orally and is more potent than naturally derived artemisinin. Compared to artemisinin, the new drug is chemically more stable in the body, owing to its organic composition. The stability makes it last longer, reducing the chance of the parasite reappearing.

Chhattisgarh, which has a vast population that has no access to health facilities, has improved its infant and maternal mortality rates. The state government's initiatives to reach all areas of the state's 18 districts have started showing results as now the latest figures say the state's infant mortality rate has declined to 57 from 95 infants per 1,000,". An official of the Directorate of Health Services said that maternal mortality rate has also come down to 33 from 47 per 1,000, and significantly the institutional delivery has risen to 42 percent from the earlier figure of just 14 percent.

Tightening its reins over medical practitioners, the Medical Council of India (MCI) asked doctors to register with the state councils wherever they are practising. If the state does not have a council, they must register with the Medical Council of India," MCI board of governors' chief S.K. Sarin said. The MCI chief said a unanimous decision on this was taken in a meeting of the state medical councils and MCI last week. "There are 24 active state medical councils. Though they are not under MCI, we are working in consultation with everyone, he said.

It is difficult to maintain a registry on sex workers as they move from one place to another but the government has been able to reach out to them and HIV infection among them has gone down, the Rajya Sabha was told. In a written reply to the upper house, Minister of State for Health Dinesh Trivedi said despite not maintaining a registry, they have been able to reach out to the community. Asked whether a registry for sex workers in India exists, Trivedi said that "the dynamics of sex workers operations keeps on changing". "Sex workers move from one place to another and assume different names which makes it difficult to keep a registry," he said.